This is my first fanfiction so please go easy on it. If you like the story I'll keep chapters coming. If not keep it to yourself, please don't hate on it. If you find any errors, whether it be spelling, grammar or anything else please just let me know. I've been reading many of the fanfictions on this site but I just wanted to add my own to them.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Underland Chronicles or any of the characters, save the ones that I will be adding. Both the Underland Chronicles and the characters within belong to Suzanne Collins.

-Ssi

Gregor felt the soft fur against his chin and neck as he leaned forward to allow Ares to easily spin away from the giant white rat. This wasn't working; eventually both he and his bond would be too worn out to continue fighting the Bane.

"I've got to get in closer if I'm going to take him out!" Gregor heard himself say.

No! Don't get closer! Get out of there! Gregor wanted to scream, to call out to Ares, to escape, but he couldn't speak.

Everything moved in slow motion. Pearlpelt caught Ares's wing, spinning him around so they were face-to-face, pulling him forward. Gregor dropped Solovet's dagger and wrapped both of his hands around the jewel studded hilt of his sword until his knuckles glimmered white.

Gregor's blade broke Pearlpelt's skin and slipped between two of the giant rat's ribs, piercing the monster's heart. But not before the Bane sank his teeth into Ares's neck. Time froze, they were a single statue being held in place by teeth and swords and claws.

He heard the screams and waited for the inevitable. The giant white rat's claw tore through his armor like it was made of water. Gregor was knocked through the air like a rag doll and smacked into the cold stone surface.

The rat opened his jaw and Ares fell, lifeless, to the ground with a crack. The Bane crippled to the ground with Gregor's sword still protruding from his flesh. Both of them were dead.

Despite everything, Gregor brought forth every ounce of his dwindling energy to drag himself across the floor to his bond. Ares lay on his back, his wings bent at awkward angles. The entire front of his neck had been torn off. Gregor pressed his face into the bat's blood-soaked chest. Gregor's right hand reached out towards Ares's claw, but before he found it Ares melted away beneath him.

Ares was gone; all that was left of him was the hot sticky blood dripping from Gregor's hands. He wished he would bleed out quicker. He wanted to leave the world he was trapped in. Far away, a pure, blue light appeared. The beautiful blue light engulfed him in warmth that almost immediately left him.

Gregor felt cold as the blue light turned to pitch black emptiness.

"Why," Gregor heard the voice echo throughout the cavern. He struggled to try to locate the voice, but he couldn't. It seemed to be coming from everywhere… and nowhere.

"Why, Gregor?" Ares repeated. "Did I not let Henry fall to save you? Was I not exiled because of you? Is this how you repay those you profess to care for?"

"No…" Gregor cried out, "I would give anything to save you!"

Ares dived, out of the dark, at Gregor sinking his claws into Gregor's already bleeding chest. Ares pulled Gregor up into the air. "Lies!" the bat spat as he rose higher and higher in the cavern.

"I would've given my life if it meant having you live instead" the warrior pleaded.

"Then why didn't you?" Ares hissed through barred teeth. With that Ares's claws were removed from his chest and Gregor fell.

As he fell, Gregor thought of the only thing that could calm him,

Ares the flier, I bond to you

Our life and death are one, we two

In dark, in flame, in war, in strife

I save-

Gregor thought the word's in his head but couldn't finish before his body hit the ground and he felt every individual bone in his body break in a fraction of a second.

He willed his breathing to slow as Gregor slid his eyes open. Gregor's dark hair was plastered to his forehead drenched in sweat. This was nothing new to him however. Rarely did Gregor sleep without these nightmares anymore.

The ex-warrior glanced at the clock next to his bed before pulling himself into an upright siting position. His hair scrapped against the slanted ceiling. When his family had moved to Virginia there were only 3 bedrooms. One was his uncle George's who was the one who actually owned the farm; another had become Gregor's father and mother's room. The final bedroom was now for his sisters', Lizzie and Maggie.

This left Gregor with the options of choosing between a room in the barn or the attic. The attic had won. This meant that, unless Gregor was standing in the dead center of the room, he couldn't stand up straight. On top of that, the only light in the room was an old oil lamp that hung near the staircase leading down to the second floor. Not that is mattered to him, Gregor no longer needed light to see, he had mastered the ability of echolocation years ago. The dark no longer made him fearful. No, he welcomed it now.

It was only 3:02 AM but Gregor still pulled himself out of bed and opened the window to let the cold, crisp September air flow through his room.

Gregor made his way down to the first floor of the small farm house quietly so he wouldn't wake anyone up. He stepped into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Gregor stripped out of his clothes as he started running the water from the shower. Stepping under the cold water Gregor ran his fingers through his dark brown hair. The feeling of his sweat being cleansed from his body was calming; still he couldn't help but feel the lingering pain from that night's restless sleep.

His fingers dropped to his neck and intertwined with his necklace as he followed it down to the claw that hung over his chest. Since he had attached Ares's claw to the necklace he hadn't taken it off for anything. For over four years now the necklace had stayed close to him, reminding him how cruel the world was and just how much it could take from anyone.

When Gregor got back to his room he started to pack up his backpack and get ready for school. He'd just started a swimming unit in gym so he crammed a full body wetsuit into the bottom of his pack. Since he had returned from the Underland his wounds had healed… however they had left numerus scars that now marked his body for what would be the remainder of his life. This meant if he wanted to join in the swimming unit he had to cover up as much of his skin as he could. His wrists and arms were covered in scars from giant squids and thorns from the living vines that scattered the jungle of the Underland. Gregor's legs were also scarred from the giant ants that he had battled on his third trip to the caverns beneath New York. On top of that there were a number of smaller scars from cuts inflicted on him by his battles against armies of giant rats.

All of those paled in comparison to the scars left on his chest. Gregor ran his fingers across one of the five long, fiery white scars that plagued his chest. They had been left for him by Pearlpelt…

Of all the scars that littered his physical body, none of them had cut as deep as the still open wounds of saying goodbye. Those were his truly unseen wounds, deep stabs through his heart and soul. Some were the goodbye's to the friends he missed from the Underland like, Howard, Hazard, Vikus, Mareth, Nike, Aurora, Temp and Ripred, yeah he even missed Ripred.

Worse off than those were the goodbye's that Gregor had never gotten to say, and never would… like Hamnet, Frill, Pandora, Thalia, Twitchtip, and Ares. They had each given their lives to save the Underland, each of their selfless sacrifices haunted Gregor's heart and soul.

The deepest scar of all, piercing through his heart clear to the other side, was her…No! Gregor pushed the thought of her from his mind. He could not bear to think of her, it hurt too much.

It had been four years, two months and twelve days since that day. That moment he held her gaze as the rock slid between them… parting them forever.

Gregor steadied himself as he cleared his mind. He took deep breaths and finished stuffing his textbook into his backpack. Gregor double checked the clock and saw it was 3:47 AM. School didn't start for over another four hours, but it was 22 miles away. He could've waited to catch the bus or he could've grabbed a ride from his dad who worked as one of the science teachers at Gregor's high school, but he just wanted some fresh air.

Gregor picked up his backpack and grabbed a small post-it note and scribbled out a little note for his parents. Gregor left the note on the door and opened it as he stepped out into the Overland. Gregor grabbed one of the last apples from the tree in the front yard as he started his jog to school. He just hoped this day would go by fast.

That's Chapter 1. I realize that nothing really actually happened in this chapter and i used a few passages from The Code of Claw, i just wanted to get a solid base on where and when the story is starting. Please rate and review. Any and all feedback is welcomed.

-Ssi